Dead Alive: A story from another side
by CreeperRoot
Summary: A storm hits Bon Temps the day after it gets it's first vampire, bringing along mysterious visitor number two that week... Sam Merlotte investigates.
1. Chapter 1

True Blood FanFic:  
>Dead Alive: A story from another side<p>

Chapter 1: The Beauty and the Beast

_*Hi, just started getting back into True Blood, (only seen the 1__st__ two series ages ago when they came out in the UK, and read the first book, but trying to save the money for the boxsets of dvds and books), hope my story doesn't reflect too much of any lack of knowlage! Also I always write better if a song influences me, so the song I listened to for this chapter was 'You Don't know Jesus' by Mogwai. Oh and this happens like the day after Sookie meets Bill. Enjoy *_

As night crept upon Bon Temps and draped its veil of purple tinged darkness it also trawled with it unexpectedly blackened clouds, like ink splotches spilt with fury. The downpour drenched Bon Temps; it was a usual thing during summer, to have heavy thunderstorms during the evening, yet few of the residents could remember a time where rain had fallen from the skies with such abundance and force.

Like every storm that means business this one also brought with it a visitor. A victim running away from a dark secret and danger as so often seems to be the case on nights like these. Ankle deep in sodden mud and pierced with the thorns she had been scrambling through, a young woman sought with haste to escape the sprawling forest surrounding the edge of Bon Temps. Something wicked this way came, hunting her down, laughing at the tears in her eyes and her heart in her mouth. She was bedraggled by the heavy downpour, and had been running through the thick undergrowth of the forest for so long that the scent of damp vegetation was strong on her now.

Casting her deep golden brown eyes over her shoulder she gave a choking gasp in terror, spotting the 'Evil', (as she had only ever known it as), about 100 yards behind, clawing through the foliage. How anyone else had failed to see it was a miracle, it shone black like an old bin bag dipped in wet tar, and had perversely long spindly fingers that looked more like the legs of a spider than anything. She looked ahead begging, wishing beyond anything that someone could save her, for a sign of salvation. How often had she done this since all this chaos had begun, and yet none had ever come? How long was it she had been running now?

Merlotte's Bar & Grill was overrun that night with both locals and new faces merely looking for a dry place out of the rain.  
>"I ain't seen nothin' like this since must be hmm….'73!" One ruddy-faced old man cackled, slamming his beer glass down onto the table and gawping out of one of the windows.<br>The bar hadn't been quite this busy for a couple of days now, perhaps this had something to do with the appearance of the new, and only, vampire in town. The staff were kept on their toes by demanding customers, Sam Merlotte, the bartender, had been working the whole day without so much as five minutes to himself, he leant against the chef's window, his face grey with exhaustion.

"Are you alright man?" Lafayette asked from behind Sam, popping into view in the kitchen service window, casually drying a plate as if there were barely any customers to be fed.

Sam nodded his head and ran a hand through his mousy brown hair.  
>"Nothing more than a headache- I'll be alright, gotta get through tonight. Guess I wasn't expecting the bar to be quite as busy as it is, not usual for a stormy night to have so many customers." He paused as a flash of lightening lit the car park outside as if it were a bright sunny day. "Looks as though we might get some thunder…" He pointed past the bobbing heads of the crowd through the windows to the world outside. He counted 1 beat before the clap of thunder shook the ground. "I guess the eye of the storm is almost upon us."<p>

"Could be the storm bringing on your headache, I heard the pressure change can do that you know." Lafayette winked at Sam knowingly, then catching a look at the exhausted barman's face smiled empathetically. "Why don't you take a breather out the back, I can command the fleet for a couple of minuets."  
>"Thanks Lafayette." Sam breathed, and ebbed his way out to the back door.<p>

The cold, damp air hit him in the face like a wet cloth, and yet Sam smiled, nature was his friend, forever unpredictable, but always there. He respected it and he pondered over it all for many hours every day and every night. Every wonder of the world, the things we as humans know, the things we don't know and the things we shouldn't. His mind started to drift into those thoughts once more, as he so often allowed it until he found himself shaken back to reality by something.

He wasn't sure if he had heard a noise or seen a flicker of something moving between the trees, but something had sure shaken him enough to awaken all his senses. Sam quickly slunk into the shadows next to the wooden shack he called home and shifted into his dog form. His senses were heightened even more like this and so he felt a little safer, also less of a target if it was a psychotic human or a hungry vampire out there, which with things as they were at the moment in the town, were equally as likely.

Giving a small whine, Sam trotted over towards the edge of the forest, wondering why he had to be so curious, only the other night during one of his endeavours into the green as a dog he had come across Sookie tending to the vampire that everyone was so weary of. Apparently she had saved him, and despite her innocence and stature, Sam didn't doubt it for a moment. As soon as he caught the scent of fear in among the thick smell of the forest he knew his instincts had picked up the fact that someone needed help close by. He had subconsciously felt it as soon as he had stepped outside. Having canine qualities had its benefits, but choosing whether or not to act on them came from the human part; and Sam, being the man he was headed straight towards the smell in order to help whoever it was.

He padded down the soil bank out of sight of the car park and listened intently, sniffed his lead and began to sprint towards where the commotion seemed to be occurring. He could smell fear that was sure enough, the fear of something sweet that smelt like blossoms and coconuts. He could also smell something that he wished he could turn away from as soon as possible. Never in his life had Sam Merlotte ever smelt the stink of anything so obscene. If he had been in his human form he'd have been retching so hard at this point it would have been difficult to get any closer.  
>And then, his eyes fell upon it.<p>

The girl had tumbled and through either exhaustion, or the petrifaction of the fear this creature of torment had cast upon her, she could not move on any further. It loomed over her slowly now, sickeningly loving every miniscule moment, and writhing with delight on the pain that it was soon to inflict. It had an awful gash of a mouth, and as it sneered, hundreds of needle like teeth glistened. It didn't appear to have any eyes, but had two fleshy like, curved horns with the same crinkled, black skin as the rest of its body.

Sam stood his ground, he had met some strange beings in his life so far, not that anyone knew, but nothing quite as physically big or bizarre looking as this before. This creature, whatever it was looked as if it could only have possibly been born in the deepest, darkest depths of hell.

The girl took a deep breath and grabbed a thick stick from the ground and began to draw a circle in the ground around her, the Evil seemed to be distracted for a moment by something just behind her. Before she completed the last gap in the circle she looked up to see what it could be. She noticed the weary looking dog stood close by, transfixed by the black, dripping monster about to kill anything standing in its path while it killed her.

"Quick come here!" She yelled at the dog. It looked at her, but didn't seem convinced. It just stood there, staring, but there was not a moment to loose. This dog wouldn't outrun the power of the Evil. She held her hands fast against the earth's ground, tensed her body and closed her eyes, sprang out of the circle, grabbed the dog in lightening speed and within a split second Sam and the girl were in the completed circle.

The girl lifted her right arm up to the massive creature and covered the dog's body with her own- protecting him as the monster swept over them, roaring with the volume of an earthquake and the sounds of clashing waves, but nothing out shone the show of strength and power that came from the girl's hand. Whatever it was that shot out at the creature, wasn't visible. It didn't even have a sound, if anything Sam was just left with a ringing in his ears, but in a moment the creature was gone. It had split and dissolved into a million pieces, shattered and blown away right before his doggy eyes.

As for the girl, she just lay there, either unconscious or worse.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Calm After the Storm

Sam had to take a few moments to just sit and think. Something else had changed. It was absolutely silent. He couldn't hear so much as a whisper. The ringing had subdued, and so had the rain. The crowd at Merlotte's wouldn't be audible by the human ear from here, but as a dog Sam should be able to hear them and right at this moment he couldn't hear a murmur. He quickly shifted into human form, unsure of what else he could do.

At least like this he could check that the girl was alive by checking for her pulse and breathing. Despite everything she seemed to be alright. Sam sat back for a moment, letting what had just happened run quickly through his mind once more.  
>"What the hell…" <p>

Just then he thought he could see a light dancing in the distance, making its way through the leafs. He quickly shifted back into dog form.

Sure enough Detective Andy Bellefleur staggered into view, closely followed by Arlene and Terry, Arlene clinging onto Terry's huge arm and Terry clinging onto a frying pan, bearing it as a weapon. He had the most awkward expression you could ever imagine to see upon a man; it was common knowledge that Terry was not comfortable with people entering his personal space, and every few seconds his eyes flicked to Arlene.

"Oh Hell Terry, a woman needs protecting! Rene was too busy drinkin' with Hoyt to come see what the noise was, and I'm too curious to stay there." Arlene flustered Terry after noticing how tense he was.

Sam pressed himself against the ground and nudged the girl's arm, pining and looking up towards Andy. A lot of the locals that came to Merlotte's had seen the dog around and just presumed it lived near by or was a friendly stray. He hoped that they wouldn't mark him out in his dog form as a suspect to this girl's unfortunate state. 

"Whatever that noise was, it's gone and knocked this poor girl right off her feet. Look, she ain't even got no shoes on." Andy remarked darkly, almost chuckling.  
>"How odd!" Arlene added. "She sure is a pretty looking thing." She added, leaning down to sweep a lock of dark, wet hair from the girl's heart shaped face. <p>

"Let's get her up towards Merlotte's and out of the crappy weather." Andy ordered, watching as Terry scooped up the girl.  
>Sam let out a quiet yammer and Arlene patted him on the head.<br>"You're a good dog aren't you, finding this poor thing and lookin' after her. I'm gona make sure Lafayette cooks you up some hotdogs when we get back to the bar."

Sam barked his appreciation, he knew he wouldn't be able to take his reward, as he'd have to transform back into a human before they got back to the bar, but then he owned the sausages anyway. He pounded his way past the detective and his employees, back up towards the bar. Sam transformed yet again in the shadows of his porch, quickly letting himself in to get dressed and then dashing back out into the car park as Arlene and the men appeared back out of the bushes with the girl still unconscious. 

"Why does everything weird have to happen around here?" Arlene whined as Sam jogged across the parking lot to them.  
>"What happened?" Sam asked, doing his best to stay calm from actually remembering what <em>had<em> happened, and to sustain the façade of innocence.  
>"Your guess is as good as mine, we went out to find what had caused that loud noise and found this girl in the woods." Arlene drawled, looking down at the girl. In the light from the street lamp it was clear that she was in her early twenties, and hadn't eaten properly for a couple of weeks. Sam held himself back from saying that his guess was better and decided that a plan of action was more important. <p>

"Terry take her into my house and lay her on the bed, Arlene you go in with him for now, we don't want her waking up to find Terry's snaggletooth face peering at her," Terry looked rather hurt by this.  
>"Haha, certainly not!" Arlene piped in.<br>"I just mean, that we don't know what she may have been through out there, and it might be better to have a woman around." Sam said. _Although Arlene may not be the most ideal choice _he thought to himself. "I'm going to pop my head into the bar to check that everything is ok, and then we can try to figure out what happened." 

"Well what about me?" Andy asked, he hated to be left out even though he was the one who should be shouting orders, it was just that half the time he was too dumb to think of any.  
>Sam shrugged, "Make yourself useful, just no interrogating at this point- else she'll most likely be traumatised."<br>Sam watched Andy roll his eyes and mumble something about too much happening in one day, referring to the incident with Jason Stackhouse no doubt, and then they carried the girl to the safety of his home. He nipped back inside and found the bar in more of an uproar than when he left. He had even caused Sookie to cry that evening just before he had gone out the back, so he hoped that she would be in higher spirits now…_she probably will be, _Sam thought_, she's meeting that damn vampire after work after all._

Sookie dashed to his side and he tried not to think about what had just happened in the forest; Sookie didn't know about him being a shifter or that there were creatures stranger than the recently 'out of the coffin' vampires which she now seemed so very taken by; Therefore he couldn't tell her what he'd just seen. Sam thought that seeing Sookie so enthralled by Bill sitting and taking her hand as they spoke that night might have been part of what had brought on his headache. Sookie seemed as though she would be a useful person to tell, had the situation been a little different on his half. She at least, had a calming and understanding presence, unlike the flame haired Arlene, and would probably prove to be of more use for when the girl regained consciousness. Luckily for Sam, Sookie usually kept her guard up around him, although she'd let it down a couple of times recently to find her boss really did like her the way Tara kept telling her he did. 

"Sam, what happened? Where did you go?"  
>Sam gently held her by the arm, glad at least she seemed to have calmed down. "Come with me, I have to tell you something- Lafayette, can you calm the place down?"<p>

"I only said I'd keep my eyes on the place for two minutes, you're walking a fine line Merlotte!" Lafayette replied with a sassy twang in his tone.  
>Sam seemed to ignore this, there were more pressing matters on his mind. He shut the door behind him and Sookie and told her that a girl had just been found unconscious in the forest, trying in vain not to think about the event that had preceded it.<p>

"Oh the poor thing!" Sookie cooed sympathetically. She felt suddenly awash with worry, her mind going to Maudette at first, then Jason, then…Her heart skipped a beat. "Did she have teeth marks?" She asked abruptly, startled Sam.  
>"No, nothing like-" Sam stopped himself before he gave the game away about what he had seen. "Not that any of us saw at least."<br>"Maybe when she wakes we'll find something more out."  
>Sam nodded in agreement, <em>if only she knew what had actually happened<em>.  
>"Come on Sookie, let's get this bar under control, only a few more hours then we can lock up for the night, and you can talk to that <em>vampire<em>." He scoffed, Sookie pulled a face as she walked behind him, but let it go.

"Oh I'll lock up later Sam." Sookie turned to beam up at him. "You ought to go check on the girl as soon as we've calmed everyone down. This storm seems to have got'n the whole town uppity…including me- and the last three people I'd want to wake up to when they're uppity are the three you've left looking after that girl." She giggled.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Damsels in Distress  
><strong>This chapter is a little longer now that there's a bit more happening. Thanks to everyone for reading so far <strong>

It didn't take long for the customers to settle into their usual habits now that the storm had calmed down and the rumour of a girl being found unconscious in the forest weaved itself around the other whispers about Maudette's murder and the new vampire. Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes at the simplicity of quite how many gossips there were in town. Arlene hadn't stayed with the girl more than five minutes once they'd brought the girl to Sam's trailer, saying that she wanted to enjoy her night off with Rene at the bar. Well Rene was as big a gossip as Arlene so Sam had no doubts how the rest of the customers had found out so quick. 

He quickly slunk into his office just for a couple of seconds off his feet before he dealt with the Bellafleurs and the girl. He heaved a sigh and let his head fall into his hands.  
>"Some night." He breathed, and pulled himself back onto his feet, heading out the back of the bar, across the staff car park to his trailer. He noticed that Arlene had already left a bowl of hotdogs out the back for 'the dog' and he chuckled to himself, thinking, <em>I'll have those later<em>. The light was on in his living room and he could see a dim light from his bedroom, probably the lamp. 

He let himself in to find Andy and Terry both sat on the sofa together in an awkward silence. Despite being cousins of sorts they didn't appear to have so much in common. Andy already had a page full of notes on how the girl had been found and her description. Sam immediately felt sorry for her. Whatever it was she was trying to escape from in the forest wasn't exactly something he could imagine her telling the police about. 

"How is everything, has she woken?" Sam asked, careful not to make too much noise. He went over to the sink to grab a glass of water.  
>"Not a peep. She's covered in mud and thorns, and might have taken some sort of knock to the head by the look of it." Andy replied. Terry heaved himself up off the sofa and looked Sam in the eyes.<br>"Is it ok if I leave now Mr Merlotte? There's a re-run of Dynasty on this month and I don't want to miss-" Terry began.  
>"Yeah that's fine," Sam smiled, trying to hide his amusement at Terry watching that awful show. Just as Terry opened the door to leave he turned and eyed Andy.<br>"You be kind to her, won't you?" He narrowed his eyes and waited until Andy heaved a sigh and nodded. 

You had to give it to Terry, despite his quirks he certainly was a good guy. Sam closed the door behind him, eyeing the bowl of hot dogs again, his stomach beginning to rumble and yearn. He tried to focus on something else.  
>"So what do you know so far?" He asked Andy, cautiously. <p>

"Well not much at the moment, all we can do is infer. I've made a few notes on where we found her, I'll go back there tomorrow with some of the cops. She's dressed a bit funny too, not from around here." Andy finished flicking through his notes and looked up at Sam. "I'll be back some time tomorrow, got to go and see a man about a video right now."

Sam let Andy out and gave a gracious goodbye, although he was a little relieved to be rid of him. He set his mind to thinking about what might happen tomorrow when Andy would return to question the girl. He wandered over towards his bedroom door, which was slightly ajar and pushed it open a little. He leant against the doorframe and held his breath until he knew she was asleep. The soft light cast from the lamp fell on her peaceful face and sure enough she seemed to have taken a knock to the head. There was a bit of a bloodied graze and a small bump.

Her skin had a faint tan to it, and her sleeping eyes donned thick, black lashes. Her nose was a little upturned but gave her a pixie like eloquence. Andy was right about her not being from town, although Sam wouldn't have called it 'dressed a bit funny'. She wore casual khaki short shorts, like many other girls did around here in the hot weather. She wore quite a casual top too, a tan brown sort of corset styled top. He guessed that the thing Andy must have found a little strange was the cropped cape she had on, but considering the downpour earlier that night it was understandable. There were a couple of feathers braided into her hair and she wore some sort of light brown thong choker around her neck. Lastly, she had no shoes. That perhaps was the strangest thing. Her feet were coated in mud and a few thorns.

Sam tilted his head to the side, his eyes sorry and his mind revelling with curiosity. He was a little nervous about her waking up now. He would have to be the kind host and make her feel at home; although, he couldn't deny a small flutter of excitement at the same time. Sure he'd have to be careful about when he shifted or not, and he was a little anxious that the girl might draw more strange evil looking creatures into his home; but the fact of the matter was Sam hadn't had company staying with him for a long time. It might be a nice change. He also found it pretty 'funny' that she'd been dumped with him. No one else had offered to put her up for the night, then again she hadn't woken since she'd been found. 

Sam went back into the living room/ kitchen and looked in the cabinets for his first aid kit. He found a soft cloth to clean the head wound, some wipes to disinfect it and some tweezers to remove the thorns. He left them on the table top for when the girl awoke. He quickly threw together the ingredients left in his fridge to make an omelette and left it on a plate with foil over in the fridge, it'd go well with the hotdogs Arlene had cooked and that girl looked half starved to him. He checked on her one more time, she was still sound asleep. With nothing else to do he went to help Sookie lock up at last. 

As he crossed the staff car park back to the bar he waved to Dawn, one of the waitresses, as she drove off. Sookie's was the only car left aside from his own.  
>"Sookie?" he called as he got inside. The doors and shutters were all locked. She must have just left through the side door. Sam stepped out of the back again and noticed Sookie heading over towards her car. She turned to look at him. <p>

"Sookie, are you sure you don't want me to stay while you wait for" Sam began, but Sookie cut him off short.  
>"Just go Sam." She was still mad at him. Sam watched her for a moment, wanting to say something, just wanting to keep her safe. He took heed of her words and stepped up onto the porch he'd built outside his trailer, unlocked the door, and with one last longing look at Sookie, stepped inside. <p>

Sam perked his ears to hear out for the girl. Nothing. He went into his bedroom, silently as his feet would allow him to get a spare blanket and a t-shirt so that he could go to sleep on the couch. Just as he closed the cupboard doors a smooth, slender hand grabbed his wrist. 

"Sir, there's a girl outside that urgently needs our help." 

Sam turned to face the girl in the dark. At long last she had woken up. She must have meant Sookie. She didn't give him a chance for even the quickest of introductions, as she lead him still by the wrist to his own front door. 

Sure enough, right before their very eyes, the Rattrays had begun kicking and beating poor Sookie to a bloody end. _Oh dear God, poor Sookie!_ Thought Sam. The girl yelled from the front porch to him;  
>"Quick!" Throwing a kitchen knife for him to catch, expecting him to engage in combat. Then she pelted it down the steps and sat down, putting her hands against the ground. <em>What the Hell is she doing just sitting down? <em>Sam eyed her, an odd expression on his face. While the girl was distracted he slid into his dog form, running up towards Sookie and barked.

At the same moment the girl shot another of her invisible forces from her hands at Sookie, which seemed to give her a little strength to fight back at the Rattrays. Sam looked back at the girl for a second but she had fainted again. She must be completely drained. He looked back at Sookie as she sunk her teeth into Denise's leg. Sam barked again threateningly, ready to attack the humans, and then heard another growl from somewhere else. He checked the girl but nothing, he looked around, hoping it wasn't that evil creature. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere something flashed past and Mack Rattray was dead in an instant. A split second later and so was Denise. 

Sam padded over to Sookie, licking her ear, hoping that it would keep her bound to consciousness. A man stepped out of the darkness, wiping blood from his face. It was Bill. Sookie had blacked out. Sam transformed back into his human form. Yes, he was stark naked, but Sam held his dignity and looked the vampire in the face. He seemed didn't seem too surprised by Sam's ability. Not through arrogance though. 

"I thought it was you that night Sookie saved me from the Rattrays, you came to check on her as a dog, didn't you?" He asked calmly.  
>Sam nodded.<br>"Looks like the tables have turned, think you'll be able to save her?" Sam asked.  
>"So long as she's willing." Bill looked gravely over Sookie. "We ought to hurry, best get that girl inside too. I won't be far from here, you're welcome to check up on her in a bit."<br>Sam nodded his thanks and scooped up the girl once he'd thrown his jeans back on. Once back in his trailer he watched Bill carry Sookie to the edge of the woods.

Somehow the thought of the Rattray's corpses out there didn't bother him so much. He'd ask Bill about their disposal later. He gently dropped the girl onto the sofa, propping her up as if to sit. She needed food and water, she was so low on energy. He wondered how much energy she must need in order for those strange powers. He scooted over to the fridge to take out the omelette he'd made earlier and grabbed the hotdogs from outside, slicing them up to go with the meal. He grimaced at the plates, not quite believing he was about to serve this to his guest. It wasn't the sort of meal he would have in mind for cooking for a lady ideally, but it'd have to do.

He knelt down in front of her at the sofa and laid a hand on both her arms, gently shaking her awake.  
>"Hey, cher, wake up. Hey," He smiled up at her as her eyes slowly opened, with a misty look. "Don't worry. I'm here to help. I've got you some food here, I think you need to get your energy levels up."<br>She looked as if she was about to pass out again, but Sam wasn't having it so he put the plate on her lap and began to ask questions to keep her awake.  
>"What's your name?"<br>She looked up from the food to his face with sleepy eyes. Stunning, sleepy eyes. They were so golden, and so deep.  
>"…Lola" She whispered, half afraid, half exhausted. She stuck a fork into the omelette, ignorant of Sam's long pause as he drank her in. He shook his head and asked another.<br>"Where did you come from Lola?" He asked.  
>"Do you want the long answer or the short answer?" Lola laughed weakly through a mouthful of food. She seemed to be enjoying it. Her accent was a little strange, well-spoken but with what Sam presumed was a French flair.<br>"Whichever you'd prefer to tell me."  
>"Well," She gulped down her food to clear her mouth. "I'm on holiday from England. French born." She looked as if she wanted to go on as she looked at Sam but then decided to hold her tongue and looked back down at the food, eating a slice of hotdog next.<br>"You're on holiday?" Sam repeated in disbelief. "Did your holiday go a little wrong by any chance?"  
>Lola didn't answer, her head hung a little lower as she stared at her food intently.<br>"Where am I?" She asked after a few moments.  
>"Just a small no-where town called Bon Temps." Sam sat back on the coffee table behind him. "Ever heard of it?"<br>Lola shook her head. She looked thoughtful for a moment.  
>"But it's in Louisiana?"<br>Sam nodded. Lola was really quite puzzling. She now looked content by the fact that she was in Louisiana. He found himself quite baffled. 

They went on chatting like this for some time, Sam all the time feeling quite serene. It had been such an odd night. He learnt that she had been on a tour of the USA with some friends and decided to stay on without them, but then her story seemed to get a little vague and he decided not to pester her any further. He remembered Bill and Sookie. 

"Lola, I have to pop out for a little while." He said, stacking the dirty dishes by the sink. "Will you be ok by yourself? I'll try not to be to long. You can watch the TV and make yourself at home."  
>"Yeah, that's fine- thanks." She replied sweetly. Sam headed out and caught Bill and Sookie's scent. He walked a little into the woods and soon came across them. Sookie was laying in Bill's arms. <p>

"Is she?..." Sam faltered.  
>"She'll be ok." Bill confirmed, sensing Sam's fear for the worst. <p>

Sam and Bill made short talk for some time, discussing at first how to deal with the bodies, and finally deciding on making it look like a freak tornado. Sam was happy with that, he could tell the girl to say it was a tornado that was the reason for her being knocked out in the woods when Andy interrogated her. He also learnt that Sookie couldn't hear Bill's thoughts. _So that's why she is so infatuated…_ Sam mused to himself.

Sam decided it safe to leave Sookie with Bill and left before she awoke, he headed back to his trailer to find Lola asleep on the couch, and all the dishes cleaned. What a sweet girl. He turned the TV and the light off, threw the blanket over Lola and at long last, fell into his comfy bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:  
><strong>I've just realised I've excluded Tara. As much as I love her I don't think I can write this storyline with her in! Sorry it took me a while to write this, been quite busy week and a bit of a sh*t week at work.<strong>

Bright beams of white light shone between the gaps in the blinds hanging at the windows, stirring Lola from her slumber. A quick, bleary-eyed survey of her surroundings reminded her of what she could remember from the night before. _The Evil…I think I got rid of it at least for now, _She began to think to herself, _Some guy taking care of me here and a girl getting beaten up outside. Oh and a dog…Hope the girl is alright._ As she remembered the sight of the blonde woman being beaten up outside her face scrunched up with concern.

Lola hopped up off the sofa to check outside the window for an indication of where she was. She could see another building close by, although from this side she couldn't see any signs. There was a wooden porch right outside the trailer she was in, a small well-kept hedge in wooden boxes, then what appeared to be a gravel car park, with a small grassy verge to the right with a washing line; and lots of trees, meaning she was still near the forest. Lola winced from the pain of her feet, and noticed the tweezers and cloth set out on the table. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to use them.

Just then a beeping came from the bedroom, causing Lola to jump. She looked over towards the door and could hear someone stirring. Still feeling a little ill at ease and unsure of how to behave or what would happen to her she went to lie back on the sofa, pretending to be asleep.

Sam hit the alarm groggily; he'd barely got 4 hours and already had begun to loathe the day ahead of him. He stretched and yawned, grabbing a fresh set of clothes to put on after his shower. As he neared his bedroom door he caught a sweet scent and remembered that he had a guest. He wondered how she was doing now that she'd had some food and let himself in to see.

Lola squinted through one eye at Sam as he came in, trying to sustain the fast asleep look.  
>"Morning, cher." Sam smiled as he walked past her to the bathroom. He was hard to fool. Lola sat up.<br>"Good morning erm…" She paused, unsure of how to address the man.  
>"Sam, Sam Merlotte." He stopped and turned to her. "I'm gona take a quick shower 'cause I've gotta open the bar up soon. Those things on the table there are for you to use, then you can hop in here after me." Sam tried to keep a little formality in his voice. He somehow thought things wouldn't feel quite as awkward if perhaps it had been some guy, or an elderly lady or a kid found in the woods.<p>

Lola heard the shower start up and then looked back at the table. She took the tweezers and began plucking the thorns out of her feet as that was the thing that most bothered her. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had only been stuck in for a little while, but she'd been without her shoes for an unfortunate amount of time, and had had no money on her for just as long.

Sam came back out of the bathroom looking fresh and a little more awake. He wore jeans and a short-sleeved flannel shirt, Lola noticed.  
>"You a breakfast sort of person?" Sam asked over his shoulder as he began foraging through the fridge.<br>"Not usually…but hey why not…maybe I need a fresh start." Lola muttered, taking one of the cushions from the sofa and holding it to her for comfort. She looked over at Sam, trying to read into what sort of person he was. This had always been something Lola did; she usually got a clear reading too, but she had recently begun to doubt her knack for this.

Well, Sam had been kind so far, not too intrusive, but not evasive. He was older than her, but she couldn't quite tell by how much. He had a few flecks of grey in his mousy brown hair, but still had a youthful look in his face. Lola watched him pour cereal into two bowls and continued to evaluate him without being to obvious. He had a friendly face…his eyes hid something.

Sam looked up and Lola looked away. He handed her the bowl of cereal and looked at her head.  
>"You know you've got a small gash on your head?" He asked, sitting like the night before on the coffee table opposite her. Lola put a hand to her hand and winced at the sore tingling pain.<br>"I didn't realise…I don't even know how I got it."  
>"Maybe you hit your head against the ground when you fell." Sam ventured, then stopped as the girl eyed him suspiciously.<br>"Did you find me then?" She asked.  
>Sam paused to get his story straight in his head.<br>"No, I was up here around the bar. Detective Bellefleur and two of my employees went into the woods because there had been a loud noise, they went to see what it was and found you unconscious. They brought you back here as it's the closest establishment around." Sam let out a small sigh of relief; Lola seemed pretty satisfied with that answer.  
>"Where's your dog?" She asked, looking around.<br>"I don't have a dog." Sam replied, "But there is a dog that hangs out around here."  
>"Ah, sorry, I just presumed it was yours because you smelt of wet dog last night."<p>

Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise at this remark and then couldn't help but laugh.  
>"I might have smelt like wet dog, but at least I'm not covered in mud. Go and take a shower then I'll see what we can do about your head injury."<br>Lola headed towards the shower and then turned.  
>"It's not a head injury, I'm always like this." She said, sounding a little hurt.<br>Sam looked a little taken aback.  
>"I meant-" He began, but then Lola grinned at him.<br>"Boy you're easy to fool." She smirked and closed the bathroom door behind her.

Sam sank down onto his sofa, finishing up his cereal and smiled to himself. While Lola was in the shower he popped over to the bar to unlock it so that his staff could get in. Lafayette turned up just as Sam was coming back out to get an early start on preparing the food. 

"You takin' good care of that girl Merlotte?" Lafayette asked from across the parking lot, a twinkle in his sly eyes.  
>"I'd like to think so." Sam replied cautiously. He was well aware of the obscene things that sometimes erupted from the chef's mouth.<br>"Ooooh you dog!" Lafayette cackled with a wink at Sam, and started spanking the air as he strolled into the bar. Well, that had certainly stopped Sam in his tracks for a moment. He hoped to high Heaven that Lafayette had only meant the sexual sort of dog, else his cover was blown.  
>If one of the small bungalows Sam owned in town weren't occupied he could suggest Lola move in to one of those. He'd be short on rent money for sure. Maybe he'd suggest it if Lola decided to stay in town long enough to work and build up some cash. <p>

Once back in the trailer he found Lola sat wrapped in one of his big, fluffy, white towels, combing her fingers through her hair.  
>"Sam, I know this is a bit of a stretch, but do you have any clothes I could borrow? I'd like to wash my own clothes if that's ok with you."<br>A smile stretched across Sam's face and he dashed out, back into his office, scrambled about to find a Merlotte's white t-shirt and black shorts. He returned and handed them to Lola, who had an inquisitive look on her face.  
>"Merlotte's?"<br>"I own the bar and grill just there." Sam grinned, pointing out the window. "That's the uniform my waitresses wear, but I always keep a few spare sets in the office. I don't have any shoes around you could wear unfortunately." 

Sam ran the warm water and dampened the cloth, to see to Lola's head once she had got dressed. There wasn't much more they could do, but it didn't seem so bad now that the blood had been washed off. Lola threw her clothes in the wash and then followed Sam over to the bar. She still didn't have any shoes, and she wasn't expected to do anything, but Sam didn't think she'd want to be stuck in the trailer all day.

Sam noted to himself that only Lafayette and Arlene had showed up. Dawn wasn't anywhere to be seen. He cursed to himself; Dawn was taking the biscuit, this wasn't the first time that she'd been late to work.  
>"Arlene, you heard from Dawn at all?" Sam strolled behind the bar, hands on hips. Arlene shook her bouncy red locks, and then beamed at Lola, who was stood a little sheepishly beside Sam.<br>"Hey there missus, you feelin' any better? I was one of the people that found you last night. I'm Arlene." She stuck a hand out to shake Lola's.  
>"Thank you, I'm Lola." <p>

Soon enough customers began filling into the bar for breakfast fry-ups and early lunches, some even for an alcoholic beverage despite it being early in the day. 

Dawn still hadn't shown so Sam rang Sookie, another waitress, asking her to fill in.

Just then a burly, rounded man clad in denim overalls and a yellowed sweaty vest top ambled over to the bar. He eyed Lola up and down.  
>"You're new here huh? And pretty funny lookin' to boot- get me a beer would yer?"<br>Lola's eyes popped open, a little taken aback by the way the guy had spoken to her, but then shook her head, reminding herself of where she was. She served the man, hoping it was the right beer, and glad that he'd given her the exact amount. She let out a sigh and sunk her shoulders, turning to Sam as he came off the phone.

"They think I'm a waitress!" she exclaimed, Sam's smile turning her panic into laughter.  
>"Well, you could be useful if you stick behind the bar with me for today. It'll take some of the strain off Arlene and Sookie, when she gets here. They're gona have to share Dawn's booths." <p>

Sookie showed up in no time, Lola was shocked and happy to see that the blonde waitress seemed right as rain, a few bruises here and there. Perhaps she hadn't been hurt as badly as it looked like she had last night. Lola considered her own abilities and what she knew of the world and decided not to ask about it. Sam looked a little shocked at Sookie too, then began showing Lola the ropes behind the bar.  
>"Sam, who are the Rattrays?" Lola asked curiously, as her most recent customer ambled away. Sam's eyes shot open and he felt cold sweat break out upon his brow as the incident with the Rattrays from the night before flashed through his mind. "That guy just told me they were found dead this morning, but I don't know who they are."<p>

"Ah heck," Sam faltered, a hand going to the back of his head awkwardly. "They weren't nice people Lola, you should be glad you ain't gona have the displeasure of ever meeting them."  
>Lola nodded, Sam seemed a fair person, and she felt she could trust his opinion.<br>"How did they die…?" Sam followed up, wondering whether Bill had gone through with his plan.  
>"A tornado I think he said. Do you get many of those round here? We only ever got one or two very tiny ones every few years in England."<p>

The day went on like this for some time, Lafayette had picked up on the fact that Lola had no shoes, not that the customers could see this with her standing behind the bar. Sookie had been her usual welcoming self and she had agreed with Lafayette to take Lola to the mall when they had time the next day to pick up some shoes and a few more clothes. Sam had offered Lola some cash to take with her but she declined, saying it would feel like stealing so she had agreed to be taken on as a waitress and earn it.

Sam leant against the bar, cloth in one hand, watching Sookie and Lafayette talk to Lola. She certainly was very intriguing, in all sorts of ways. He hadn't learnt much about her parents, other than that her mother at least was French. She had moved to England when she was still quite young, and was educated, and had finished studying at a university in Oxford, although she hadn't touched upon what it was she studied; she hadn't mentioned a thing about the creature or her use of magic. He felt a little guilty her wasting her time working in his bar, but she seemed happy. After what he'd seen of that creature the night before, perhaps she was glad to just have a chance to escape from it all.

Lola felt eyes on her back and slowly turned to see who was watching her, she smiled to see Sam and turned back to her conversation, her cheeks a little flushed.

Looking away quickly, and having dropped the cloth he had been holding Sam retrieved it from the floor and bumbled along into his office to sort paper work. Just as Sam left the bar, Andy Bellefleur gushed in through the front doors and scanned the bar for Sam or 'the Girl'. He spotted Lola and strode up to her.  
>"Detective Andy Bellefleur, I was one of the people who found you last night. I'm here to ask you a few questions." He said at once, his brow furrowed and his cheeks a little red from rushing over from the scene of the Rattray's upturned trailer. He shot Sookie a funny glance then looked back at Lola, who seemed a little startled.<p>

"Aww leave the girl alone, she needs some time to recover and find her feet." Lafayette piped up, waving a spatula towards the grumpy looking detective.  
>"More like she needs to find her shoes." Bellefleur chipped back. Arlene rolled her eyes, Andy seemed full of the no-shoe gags.<br>"No, it's alright." Lola began, a little flushed by apprehension of how she might answer some of the questions, "Where shall we do this?"


End file.
